Her first test of the year is Karina Hallinan (3-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC). The pair fights on the preliminary card at Bellator 35, which takes place tonight at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. MTV2 airs the main card live.

That’s not a typo. The reigning 115-pound champion has been relegated to the preliminary card for the time being.

“It made me really upset and a lot of people upset,” Frausto recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I’m on the preliminary card, but it’s the local main event, which means I don’t have a sure spot on TV. There’s supposed to be a 90 percent chance or something that I will be on TV if any of the fights end early. It was a big deal with me not being on TV and officially being a world champ and all this other great stuff.”

It actually is a rematch between Frausto and Hallinan. They fought each other back in February 2009, and Frausto earned the split-decision win. Both fighters made their pro debut.

“When I fought her, I really didn’t have any wrestling or any grappling, and my striking was just kicks,” Frausto said. “It’s been two years since we fought, so it will be two totally different fighters.

“She’s a tough girl. I broke her arm in the second round when I fought her, and she kept coming. I know for a fact that she’s tough, but I don’t see her taking this from me.”

The bout is a non-title affair and, thankfully for Frausto, she won’t have to struggle to make the 115-pound limit like she had to do on multiple occasions throughout her 2010 tournament run. Tonight’s fight is being contested at a slightly more comfortable 125 pounds.

“One hundred and twenty five pounds is still hard for me to make, but 115? I really don’t know how the hell I did that every four weeks,” Frausto said. “I’ve been having a lot of problems with actually trying to get down in weight. After this fight, I have to go and see a doctor and see what the hell is going on with my body because what I did in that tournament to get down to the weight each time, it kind of messed me up a little bit.”

She freely admits it was a difficult year and taxing not only on body, but on her mind as well.

Frausto since has broken her allegiance to Team Pro Buhawe, and the split appears to have been anything but amicable.

“There was a lot of shady stuff going on, and I didn’t want to be a part of it, especially with where I’m at in my career,” Frausto said. “I had enough stress cutting weight and trying to get ready for a fight. I needed a team that felt like family. You can’t go into a place where there is tension, where you don’t feel loved. I had to get up, and I had to leave.

“A lot of it had to do with not getting the attention that I deserved, not getting the respect that I deserved. There was a huge money issue. They were asking for so much money from me, and I wasn’t training there half the time. It was never enough.”

As a result, she relocated cross-country from her long time home of Fresno, Calif., to Cincinnati. She has become a permanent Ohio resident and is now training with Team Jorge Gurgel on a regular basis.

Gurgel also happens to be her new husband. The longtime pair tied the knot on Feb. 19 in a private ceremony and also will travel to Brazil before year’s end for a larger celebration.

Coincidentally, Gurgel also is scheduled to compete Saturday night. He fights Billy Vaughan on the preliminary card of “Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson” in Columbus, Ohio.

It’s a big night for the newlyweds who, in the spirit of pop culture and celebrity couples, we can now refer to simply as “Joila.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.